Today in Kimberley's History
January 20th
"Every day has a story about Kimberley's past."
On this day...
On 20 January, Kimberley's story combines engineering excellence, the harsh realities of life under siege, and the work of one of the city's earliest historians. It is a reminder that history is shaped not only by dramatic events, but also by the people who record and preserve them.
1900 – Long Cecil is Prepared for Battle
The day after its successful first firing, Long Cecil underwent its final proving and calibration before entering operational service.
Following the previous day's trials on 19 January, George Labram and the engineers at the De Beers Workshops carefully examined the gun for signs of stress or damage. None were found. Minor adjustments were made to the sights and the elevating mechanism, and the test-firing results were used to prepare accurate range tables for the artillery crews.
The successful calibration confirmed that Kimberley's remarkable home-built gun was ready for active service. Within twenty-four hours, Long Cecil would begin firing regularly at Boer positions surrounding the town, becoming one of the defining symbols of Kimberley's resistance during the siege.
Did You Know?
Long Cecil was designed, built, tested and calibrated in less than a month while Kimberley was under continuous bombardment—an extraordinary achievement for the De Beers engineers and artisans who worked on the project.
Check out the Long Cecil four-day sequence:
18 January – Long Cecil completed.
19 January – First test firing.
20 January – Calibration and preparation.
21 January – First operational service.
900 – The Hidden Cost of the Siege
97 days into the Siege of Kimberley
While Long Cecil boosted morale, daily life inside Kimberley continued to grow more difficult.
By late January 1900, food shortages had become severe. Rations were tightly controlled, fresh fruit and vegetables had virtually disappeared, and diseases associated with poor nutrition were becoming increasingly common.
The effects were not felt equally. Black residents, many of whom lived in the mine compounds and refugee camps, received significantly smaller food rations than white civilians. Overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate diets contributed to outbreaks of scurvy, dysentery, pneumonia, tuberculosis and infantile diarrhoea.
Scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C, proved particularly devastating. Hundreds of African residents died from the disease during the final weeks of the siege and its immediate aftermath, revealing the unequal burden carried by Kimberley's different communities. These losses form an important, though often overlooked, part of the city's wartime story.
Did You Know?
The Siege of Kimberley claimed far more lives through disease and malnutrition than through enemy shellfire. The greatest suffering was experienced in the overcrowded compounds and refugee camps.
1961 – Remembering Arthur "Mannie" Beet
On this day in 1961, Arthur Joseph "Mannie" Beet died after a lifetime of service to Kimberley.
Born in Kimberley, Beet served the municipality for 35 years, including 13 years as Town Clerk. As a young man he lived through the Siege of Kimberley, an experience that inspired a lifelong interest in preserving the city's history. Together with Cyril Harris, he co-authored the landmark book Kimberley Under Siege (1950), which remains one of the most valuable accounts of the siege and its people.
Mannie Beet also continued the work begun by his father, George Beet, one of Kimberley's earliest historians. Their combined efforts ensured that many of the city's stories, personalities and landmarks were carefully documented for future generations. Today, much of what we know about Kimberley's early history owes a debt to the dedication of the Beet family.
Did You Know?
Without the meticulous work of historians such as George Beet and Mannie Beet, many of Kimberley's stories from the diamond rush and the Siege of Kimberley might have been lost forever.
[Thanks to Steve Lunderstedt and "Kimberley Calls... And Recalls" Facebook group.]
Can't find a Kimberley connection for a particular date? Our Today in Kimberley's History collection is continually expanding as we research Kimberley's rich history. If you know of a notable local event that occurred on a specific date, we'd love to hear from you using the Contact Us page.
Kimberley's Story Continues
These are just two of the many events that helped shape Kimberley. Every date on the calendar reveals another chapter in the city's remarkable history.
Continue exploring...